Issue #57 May 25 th 2016 Italia Independent celebrates Juventus Two special edition sunglasses dedicated to the fifth time in five years Scudetto won by the Turin Club pg. 3 Repayments in France are changing Dreamlux shines in NY GIFO Chairman, Ludovic Mathieu, explains the new policies to us pg. 5 pg. 2
Repayments in France are changing What is happening in the country of the Tour Eiffel? Ludovic Mathieu, Chairman of GIFO - Groupement des Fabricants et Industriels de l'optique explains this to us in an exclusive interview. Could you please explain how eyeglass purchase refunds currently operate in France? For most French people, the funding of eyeglasses is split in three parts: public social security (5%), private health insurance - OCAM (72%) and out of pocket (23%) paid by the wearers. This is only an average and of course it depends on the selected spectacles and the insurance contract subscribed to. There are many contracts offered by more than 500 companies. More than 90% of French people are covered by these contracts, most of which are provided by employers, and people with a low income can benefit from specific public care systems. On top of that, some healthcare expense management platforms appeared 15 years ago on the initiative of insurance companies in an attempt to reduce the relevant risks. They encourage the insured party to go to the optical retailers previously selected (based on quality criteria and discounts ). In a decree of November 2014, the French Ministry of Health created the OCAM observatory. What is its role? What will change for repayments? The decree plans to set up an Optical prices and reimbursements Observatory. Its aim is to monitor the evolution of prices, refunds and out-of-pocket expenses based on the evolution of quality. GIFO is a member of this observatory along with public administrations, end-users associations and opticians unions and we have started to define the indicators that will be followed over time. The idea is to measure the concrete impact of the new regulations enacted in 2014, which are designed to define a precise reimbursement method and, as a consequence, reduce the injection of financial resources into the optical sector. Public authorities maintain that repayment by insurance companies leads to an inflationary effect on the prices of optical glasses but they also want to be sure that the new regulations will not cause a decline in the quality of products. To go further into detail: the new specifications state that the maximum reimbursement is 150 for a frame and, with the exception of more serious vision defects, 160 for an optical lens and 300 for a progressive lens. Moreover, insurance companies have to relinquish the possibility of making annual reimbursements (except in the case of children and significant changes in vision) if they want to benefit from important tax advantages. From now on, the general rule will be at least 2 years between 2 repayments. Has it already implemented restrictive policies towards repayments? The law came into effect on April 1st 2015 but health insurance companies have until December 31st 2017 to fully comply with these new regulations. It's too soon to evaluate the overall effect but we fear that the maximum amount for reimbursement will become the maximum selling price and that many people will extend their renewal term. What do you think the consequences for the French domestic market and the European market will be? Should producers start to worry? GIFO members are concerned about the consequences. If we agree with the objective of improving access to eyecare for everyone, we think it shouldn t be done to the detriment of quality and innovation and it shouldn t hamper competition and freedom of choice for consumers and, therefore, freedom of differentiation for manufacturers. In a broader sense, we all know the social and economic impact of poor vision, whether in terms of productivity, academic failure or driving risks, and we fear that, contrary to the initial objective, these measures could result in a decline in eyesight tests. world weekly wonders WMIDO 2
Italia Independent celebrates Juventus five-year golden era Juventus makes history, winning the Italian Serie A Football League for the fifth time in five years and Italia Independent celebrates it by introducing new special edition sunglasses. Both feature a unique cut surface detail that is present both on the front of the eyewear and on the temples. These details are combined with a special treatment called Button to give the matt frame an eyecatching vintage look thanks to faint lines that cover the entire surface of the glasses in the team s colours. On the inside of one temple there is the team s crest with the words Campioni d Italia 2016 and on the other, the Scudetto with the three colors of the Italian flag and the hashtag #HI5TORY chosen by Juventus to celebrate this season s extraordinary achievement. These limited edition sunglasses can be purchased in Juventus Stores, the Club s online store (juvestore.com), Italia Independent boutiques and the brand s e-commerce site italiaindependent.com as well as at selected opticians. Shamballa Eyewear arrives in Italy and Canton of Ticino with Reme Reme has signed a contract with Larry Sands and Michael Lillelund, of Paradis Luxury Group, for the distribution of Shamballa Eyewear in Italy and Canton of Ticino until 2022. Shamballa Eyewear, born in 2014, is a luxury collection inspired by the ancient tradition of Yoga and Meditation, using luxury materials such as diamonds paves and manufacturing techniques of the jewelry industry, such as Rolled Gold Electroplating (RGP) and Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD). It s a premium and elite product, produced in Japan, that means very high quality in the eyewear industry.reme is setting up a distribution Aldo Beccarini, Reme's President, with Larry Sands from Paradis Luxury Group plan with selected key retails in line with the target, such as Capri, Rome and Costa Smeralda. Luxottica results In accordance to the recent directives, Luxottica will no longer publish its first quarter and third quarter earnings release and management statement but will continue to report half-year and fullyear consolidated results. This change in the Group s reporting calendar allows it to better represent the evolution and health of its business. Luxottica ended the first quarter of 2016 with an increase in net sales compared to the first quarter of 2015, when both the Retail and Wholesale divisions recorded their Leonardo Del Vecchio, Luxottica Executive Chairman strongest growth of 2015. The Group Net Sales has been of 2,266 millions of Euros, while in the same period of 2015 has been of 2,210 millions of Euros. Safilo closes the quarter and renews the agreement with Jimmy Choo In accordance with the European Union s Transparency Directive regarding the obligation to publish interim management statements, Safilo has decided to release on a voluntary basis a trading update for its first quarter and third quarter economic and financial KPIs. In the first quarter of 2016, its net sales reached Euro 301.6 million (-7.0% at current exchange rates and 6.6% at constant exchange rates, compared to Euro 324.3 million in the first quarter of 2015). Q1 2016 Gross Profit was Euro 184.2 million (-6.3% compared to Euro 196.6 million in the first quarter of 2015). Its Net Debt stood at Euro 109.7 million (-14.5% compared to Euro 128.3 million at the end of March 2015). The Group has also announced the early renewal of their agreement for the Jimmy Choo Eyewear collection, which has now been extended to December 31, 2023. It also includes the men s collection, with a first capsule edition in January 2018. world weekly wonders WMIDO 3
Changes in Architectures Nadine Roth, who in 1995 was the co-founder of the Architectures company, has upon mutual agreement with the company management decided to leave the company. The decision follows an overall restructure of the company, which is taking place to better match the growing demand of our customers world-wide. The company wishes to be even closer to it s customers and will be investing in setting up three regional sales & marketing organizations to support the European, American and Asian customer groups even better than today. In June 2014, Architectures merged with ProDesign to become a more powerful international independent group of design eyewear, which today successfully manages four internationally recognized eyewear brands, Face A Face, Woow, Inface and Pro Design. Nadine Roth Invu finalist for the 2016 Swiss Economic Award Swiss Eyewear Group, with its innovative Invu ultra polarized sunglass brand, has been chosen as one of the three finalists for the 2016 Swiss Economic Award. This award recognizes the most successful entrepreneurial start-up companies in Switzerland and the winner will be announced June 9th, 2016. In addition, Switzerland Global Enterprise, an organization that supports entrepreneurs and promotes Switzerland as a business location, has named Swiss Eyewear Group as one of the three finalists for the prestigious Export Award. This is a great honor and a huge compliment for our Invu ultra polarized sunglass brand. It confirms that by offering consumers high quality Jerry Dreifuss, Presidente di Swiss Eyewear Group Swiss engineered sunglasses at an affordable price we are meeting a strong market demand and exceeding customer expectations. says Jerry Dreifuss, Ceo of Swiss Eyewear Group (International). Growing revenues and the inauguration of new stores for Fedon Giorgio Fedon & Figli ended the first quarter of 2016 with a turnover of 17.2 million Euro characterised by a growth in revenues from the optical wholesale channel and the leather goods industry (+ 6.1%), as well as a substantial growth in the direct retail channel (+ 57.2%), represented by the network of Fedon stores at airports and major railway stations that now counts 16 stores. The new Fedon eyewear collection was presented at the Mido in March. One year after the presentation of our first eyewear collection, its success has been well beyond our expectations, said the chairman Callisto Fedon. The network of Fedon single-brand stores will be increased in 2016 with the inauguration of three new prestigious stores, added the new CEO Maurizio Schiavo, bringing the total number of single-brand stores to 19 units. The first will be opened before the end of May at the Sicily Outlet Village in Agira, while the other two will be opened at the airports of Hong Kong and Turin Porta Nuova. Turn over design by Mario Milana Julian Clarke Global Commercial Director Brando Eyewear Arnaud Dubord Commercial Director for the Asia Pacific region Brando Eyewear Mark Langer CEO Boss Kevin Lindl Western Regional Sales Director WestGroupe USA Francesco Milleri Vice President Luxottica Jonathan Saunders Creative Director Diane von Furstenberg Simona Spaiardi Worldwide Marketing and Communication Director Paul&Shark world weekly wonders WMIDO 4
Mario Botta signs a Fixpencil Design, fashion & lifestyle Caran d Ache and Mario Botta are presenting a new limited edition, available in two formats, of the emblematic Fixpencil, the instrument preferred by the famous Swiss architect. Invented in 1929 by Carl Schmid, an engineer from Geneva, the Fixpencil was the world s first mechanical pencil fitted with a patented clutch mechanism. More than 25 models have been developed throughout its life, enjoying global success. Fixpencil have impressed generations of architects, students, engineers and designers including renowned professionals. With two original creations, one predominantly black and the other predominantly white, Mario Botta essentially wants to highlight the hexagonal structure of the Fixpencil by means of a chequered pattern taking the form of a contrasting overlay of bricks, his favourite material. Each Fixpencil is accompanied by a graphite lead and four Caran d Ache-quality, water-soluble leads. EnjoyFloor from the Salone del Mobile to Dubai EnjoyAll will be presenting its main product line EnjoyFloor at the Middle East Covering exposition at the Dubai World Trade Centre on May 23-26, 2016. The aim is to bring to the Middle East public an interior design solution embodying the staples of Italian design: innovation, uniqueness, style and elegance. EnjoyFloor blends together aluminium and tinged resins to create extremely versatile flooring solutions and to give a special feel to each setting. EnjoyFloor employs extruded aluminium to introduce a new and groundbreaking concept of flooring: an uninterrupted one-piece floor, seamless and extremely customizable. Patented brilliance A persuasive femininity Famous actress Claire Danes attended the Met Gala, held at the beginning of the month at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of New York, wearing a dazzling Dreamlux dress. Danes has won four Golden Globes and starred alongside Leonardo Di Caprio in Romeo+Juliet and numerous other films and TV series. Dreamlux's values of innovation and research permitted the Italian brand to develop a brand-new yarn which is now patented in 44 countries all over the world. This material may be used in a multitude of ways and has been introduced spontaneously in the world of fashion, furnishings and installations. Dreamlux brought technology, excellence, and knowledge of tailoring to New York, but most importantly: Made in Italy, confirming the company's creative and productive genius. Glamorous retro inspirations for Sergio Rossi Fall Winter 2016-17 new collection. Suffused lighting and glittering crystals evoke the cheerful atmosphere of celebrity nights in the most famous and exclusive clubs of the 20 s and 30 s, by celebrating a woman with a magnetic charm. At night, glitter sparkles and the embroidery of jet sequins on soft velvet shines. Colored mink bands make the sandals more special and eccentric. Sergio Rossi collection is a tribute to a persuasive and glamorous femininity that describes itself using color and savoir faire, both distinguishing features of the brand. Editorial Director: Francesco Gili MIDO Srl Unipersonale Via Petitti, 16-20149 Milano (Italy) Phone +39 02 32673673 P. Iva IT 07164050150 Cod. Fiscale e n. Iscr. Ufficio Imprese di Milano 07164050150 Cap. soc. 120.000,00 i.v. R.e.a. 1710133 Company subject to the direction and the coordination of Anfao - Associazione Nazionale Fabbricanti Articoli Ottici WMido is published in cooperation with Publicomm srl Via Quadrio 20/40-20154 Milano (Italy) P. Iva 02030290999 email: redazione@wmido.com world weekly wonders WMIDO 5